3 keyword trends to revamp your email marketing

Did you know that the keywords “don’t miss”, “learn”, and “today” could actually be hurting your email marketing? Check out Adestra’s 2013 subject line analysis report to make sure you’re using targeted, effective keywords. The report gives an awesome breakdown of specific keywords and their effects on open rates, click rates, click to open ratios, and unsubscribe rates. Three trends they found are:

1. Keep your emails regular and strategic

Though you might think that monthly newsletters would be less annoying than weekly ones, their analysis found that words like “monthly”, “newsletter”, and “subscription” all lead to decreased open rates and increased unsubscribes (subscription’s unsubscribe rate increased by 267%). “Daily” and “weekly” increased open and click rates and decreased unsubscribes.

2. People love free swag

The study confirms what we already know: people love free stuff – especially free delivery. “Free delivery” significantly boosts open rates and click through rates. Prizes and free products didn’t always help open rates, but they all increased click rates. In the B2C events sector, almost every keyword tested (such as “2 for 1″, “exclusive”, “discount”, or “free”) positively affected open rates but negatively affected subscription rates.

3. Content marketing is key, but don’t overdo it

They found that words such as “book”, “report”, and “learn” all hurt open and click rates. However, “video” performed well in all areas, leading to increases in open and click rates and a decrease in unsubscribes. “When working on your content marketing plan, bear in mind that everyone else is too. Focus on differentiating your offerings,” Adestra suggests. People don’t just want information, they want current and exciting information: ”breaking”, “alert”, and “news” were all very effective keywords.